


i found something in the woods somewhere

by omgdexnursey (sunshineforthesoul)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Humor, M/M, Pre-Slash, Rated T for language, don't take this seriously, the end notes are important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 20:05:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19180465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineforthesoul/pseuds/omgdexnursey
Summary: “I’m, um, I…” Dex’s eyes dart to Chowder, who gestures at him encouragingly. “I’m a werewolf.”Shit.“Sorry, what?” Nursey says. Behind him, Chowder facepalms.Shit shit shit. That is not what I meant to tell them.[Dex tries to come out to Nursey, but ends up saying that he's a werewolf]





	i found something in the woods somewhere

**Author's Note:**

> also on also on [tumblr](https://omgdexnursey.tumblr.com/post/188516689241/i-found-something-in-the-woods-somewhere-werewolf)
> 
> title from “in the woods somewhere” by hozier
> 
> check, please! and its characters belong to ngozi

_William Poindexter, you can do this,_ he thinks to himself. He’s already come out to Chowder, and now that he and Nursey are actually becoming friends, he figures he should tell him. 

And yet - 

He’s nervous. He’s holed himself up in the bathroom, giving himself mental pep talks for the last fifteen minutes. 

He stares into his own eyes.

 _“You know, this isn’t even the worst thing you’re hiding from them,”_ reflection Dex says.

Dex scowls. Reflection Dex scowls back. 

“Hey, Dex? You okay in there?” Chowder calls out from the kitchen. 

“Uh, yeah,” he answers, trying to mask the panic rising in his chest. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

He splashes water on his face, takes a deep breath, and opens the bathroom door. 

Nursey is sitting at the kitchen table, highlighting something in one of his books. He doesn’t look up when Dex enters. This comforts Dex. 

_Maybe it’ll be easier to say if he’s not looking at me._

Dex clears his throat. “Um, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you guys,” he says. He’d instructed Chowder to act like he doesn’t know what he’s about to say. 

“Wait a minute, I’m finishing this sentence,” Nursey interrupts. 

Dex sighs impatiently, even though it only takes a few seconds for Nursey to cap his highlighter, fold his hands, and look at Dex expectantly.

What little confidence Dex had mustered vanishes when Nursey looks at him. He doesn’t appear bored or irritated; quite the opposite. He’s looking at Dex with genuine concern, and that is so much worse than Dex had imagined. 

“I’m, um, I…” Dex’s eyes dart to Chowder, who gestures at him encouragingly. “I’m a werewolf.”

_Shit._

“Sorry, what?” Nursey says. Behind him, Chowder facepalms.

_Shit shit shit. That is not what I meant to tell them._

But because William Poindexter is stubborn and has already begun to dig himself a grave, he refuses to put down the shovel. “You heard me,” he snaps. His blood feels like boiling magma beneath his skin, and he’s sure it shows.

“Uh…” Nursey is lost for words, and he slides his gaze over to Chowder. 

“Thank you for trusting us with that,” Chowder replies, and bless him for going along with it because Dex wishes a giant rock would fall from the sky and crush him right now. 

“So… werewolf, huh?” Nursey says, nodding. “Do you want us to like, drop you off in the woods every time there’s a full moon or something?”

Chowder frowns. “I don’t know if that’s necessary…”

“That would be great,” Dex cuts him off because he’s in too deep, and he has to commit to this now. “I think the next full moon is—”

“Tomorrow,” Nursey says, returning to his book.

“Right.”

“Don’t look so sad.” Nursey glances up and fucking _smirks_ at him. “I hear the woods are lovely this time of year.”

  


* * *

  


“You should be all set,” Nursey announces, looking around at the mini camping site they’ve created. 

Honestly, it could be worse. They’ve pitched his tent, dug out what could be called a fire pit, and unloaded all of Dex’s camping supplies. They’ve picked a spot hidden away from the general hiking public, for obvious safety reasons regarding Dex’s affliction, and also because “we’re coming back every month, we might as well just leave most of this stuff here,” Nursey shrugs. 

Dex stands in the middle of the Designated Werewolf Area and Nursey bites back a laugh.

He looks so awkward, his shoulders hunched forward, head ducked. Nursey knows he’s subconsciously trying to make himself look smaller and less threatening, which really translates into he’s super embarrassed. 

“Well, see you in the morning,” Nursey says, patting Dex on the shoulder and climbing into Chowder’s car. 

He sees Chowder give Dex a hug, and then Chowder slides into the driver’s seat.

Dex waves at them as they reverse and pull out onto the road.

“So…” Nursey begins, eyeing Chowder for any reaction. “Are we going to talk about this?”

“Talk about what?”

“Dex isn’t really a werewolf, is he?”

Chowder shrugs.

Nursey tries again. “I mean, that’s not what he wanted to tell us. I can’t say for sure but, um, he —I think he was trying to come out.” 

Chowder’s silence gives Nursey the answer he’s looking for. 

“You knew.”

“I… Yeah. He was finally comfortable telling you, but I guess he freaked out.”

Nursey laughs. “Well, it is our William Poindexter we’re talking about.” 

Chowder taps the steering wheel with his pointer fingers. “How long are we going to keep dropping him off in the woods?”

The grin Nursey gives him can only be described as devilish. “However long it takes him to cave.”

  


* * *

  


To their surprise, Dex holds out a lot longer than either of them would’ve predicted. 

They were sure Dex would crack when winter rolled around, but he acted no differently. Just waved as they drove away, then knelt down to start a fire.

“Something’s up,” Nursey says to Chowder as they play Mario Kart. “He couldn’t possibly enjoy camping in the middle of February. Plus,” Nursey frowns slightly, “he missed my birthday.”

Chowder makes a noise of agreement.

“Here’s what I think we should do,” Nursey continues. “We should drop Dex off, like normal, and then come back and camp out in your car.”

“Isn’t that like spying on your best friend?”

“Chowder,” Nursey shakes his head. “It’s not spying. Think of it as… concerned supervision from two loving, caring friends. We’re not there to invade his privacy. We just want to know what he gets up to. If it’s nothing, we drop it and pretend like nothing ever happened.”

Chowder thinks it over. “Well, when you put it like that, it does seem a little better.”

“Good. Because I’ve already packed our stuff into your trunk.”

  


* * *

  


They return late, when they’re sure Dex won’t see them. 

“Hey Nursey,” Chowder whispers.

“What’s up?”

“He’s not there.”

“What?”

“Look.”

Chowder hands him the binoculars. Sure enough, the campsite’s empty. The last few embers of the fire glow orange against the black night sky. Dex is nowhere to be found.

“What the hell,” Nursey mutters to himself and gets out of the car. 

“Nursey! Where are you going?” 

Nursey walks over to the tent and lifts up one of the flaps. It, like the rest of the site, is unoccupied. The sleeping bag is slightly rumpled, so Dex has been using it.

There’s a few candy bar wrappers lying around, a flashlight, some random articles of clothing. And… red fur? It’s more coppery than red, but it does resemble Dex’s hair. 

Chowder pokes his head in the tent. 

“Nursey, what are you doing? What if he comes back?” Chowder hisses. 

“I don’t think he is, at least not tonight,” Nursey says. He turns and holds up the tuft of fur.

Chowder pales. “No way. You don’t think… he was telling the truth?”

“I honestly don’t know.” 

They walk around the forest with flashlights for a little while, but their search is fruitless. They give up and return to Dex’s camp site. 

“Let’s just sleep in his tent,” Nursey says. Chowder yawns. “If he comes back we’ll just tell him we came to check on him.”

“Okay.” Neither one of them has enough energy to argue about how much sense that explanation makes. 

Chowder goes out like a light the second they lay down. It takes Nursey a little while longer. 

A beam of moonlight bleeds in through a crack in the tent. As Nursey slips into unconsciousness, he swears he hears a lonely howl, echoing through the woods. 

  


* * *

  


“Nursey. Nurse!” Chowder nudges his shoulder. “Derek!”

Nursey groans. “What?”

“You’ve gotta see this.”

Nursey cracks open his eyes to see Chowder kneeling by the tent’s entrance. He pulls his body up and peers out with him.

There’s a wolf sleeping beside the fire pit. Its copper fur shines in the rising sunlight. 

“No fucking way,” Nursey says in a low voice. He stands up and rushes out of the tent. “Dex?”

“Nursey you’re gonna die!” Chowder yells, running after him. 

Nursey slows down when he gets within a few feet of the wolf. The wolf’s ears twitch, and it opens its eyes. Nursey’s heart jumps into his throat.

Those are unmistakably Dex’s yellow eyes staring back at him. 

Dex—the wolf—wolf Dex cocks his head at him. Then, he turns his head towards the sun peeking above the trees. 

The wolf’s body begins to glow from within. Nursey watches as the wolf morphs and takes the shape of a man. The glow fades, and Dex—his Dex—is standing in front of them.

“Um, hi guys,” he says sheepishly, face already turning red. He rubs the back of his neck. “I didn’t know you’d be here so early.”

“Dex what the fuck?” Nursey exclaims. “You’re, like, actually a werewolf? Like, for real?”

“Yeah...?” 

“Oh my God, we thought that that was a weird euphemism for being gay.” 

Dex’s shoulders curl forward. “Oh, yeah. That too.”

“So wait, are you dangerous when you… transform?” Chowder asks. “You’ve lived with us for almost two years and we never would’ve known.”

“No, I’m in control of myself,” Dex answers. His eyes flicker to Nursey’s. “Otherwise I would’ve eaten Nursey.” 

“Then why…”

Dex rolls his eyes. “Because it slipped out when I was trying to tell you I was gay. And then I figured ‘it’s too late, I can’t take it back’ and Nursey suggested you guys drop me off in the woods and I liked the idea of the alone time but.” He sighs. “I got lonely back in like November. Also, sorry I missed your birthday Nurse.”

A weird tingly feeling shoots through Nurse’s body. “Oh, it’s uh… it’s chill.”

They stand there for a moment, without saying a word.

Finally, Dex clears his throat. “So, can we go back now? And like, only come back if we’re camping for real?”

“Of course,” Chowder says quickly. “Let’s pack up.”

Thankfully Dex travels lightly, and it doesn’t take long for them to be on their way. Dex leans his head against the window, staring at the vacant campsite. 

“Hey Dex,” Nursey says, breaking the silence. “Quick question: when you’re sick, should we take you to the doctor or the vet?”

Nursey grins as Dex kicks the back of his seat.

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is entirely based on [this fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13206078)
> 
> i read it and i was like “i want this where everything is the same except dex actually is a werewolf, but chowder and nursey don't know. they just think he's being weird”, so i wrote this
> 
> tumblr [@omgdexnursey](https://omgdexnursey.tumblr.com/)


End file.
